USATF Places Vin Lananna On Leave

USA Track and Field has placed its president, Vin Lananna, on temporary leave to avoid potential conflict of interest concerns over an investigation into the awarding of the 2021 world championships to Eugene.

Vin Lananna

Credit TrackTown USA

The Department of Justice is investigating possible racketeering, money laundering and fraud charges related to the awarding of both the Eugene championships and the 2019 championships to Doha, Qatar.

Lananna has long served as president of TrackTown USA, the nonprofit that hosts events in Eugene. He led Eugene's efforts to land the championships, which were awarded without a bid process.

USATF chairman Steve Miller said nobody at the federation believes Lananna committed wrongdoing, but the move was made to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

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The past weeks' Olympic Trials were a massive undertaking. The 2021 World Championships will bring events at Hayward Field to another level. That's the goal for the nonprofit Track Town USA, which aspires to expand the sport nationally. Eugene is preparing to package its track enthusiasm and deliver it to other cities.

Eugene, Oregon has been awarded the 2021 World Track and Field Championships after many weeks of quiet negotiations.

Eugene earned a close second in last fall’s bid for the 2019 World Championships. In February, organizers appealed to IAAF president Lamine Diack, and were encouraged to campaign for the 2021 event. Track Town USA President Vin Lananna says he wasn’t feeling confident until this week. He spoke from Beijing after the council meeting: